If a County Court, in the processing of an entirely normal Claim , in dereliction of its duties fails to allocate a Case to a track before a Hearing what redress does a party have if it is disadvantaged by the failure (e.g. track dependant CPRs are not available ed.g. 27.14)

Your enquiry has not been processed as a Freedom of Information request as the information you have requested is already published elsewhere.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service operates a staged administrative complaints process. This allows the court or tribunal where the problem has occurred to investigate and put things right. If you wish to complain about the administrative handling of your case you can send details of your complaint to the relevant County Court. The court will fully investigate your concerns and reply. They will also provide you with details of how you can escalate your complaint to the next stage should you remain dissatisfied.

If a County Court, in the processing of an entirely normal Claim , in dereliction of its duties fails to allocate a Case to a track before a Hearing what redress does a party have if it is disadvantaged by the failure (e.g. track dependant CPRs are not available ed.g. 27.14)

Yours faithfully,

Michael Piesse

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[FOI #252143 email]

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Michael, allocation to track is ultimately a matter for a judge.Court staff can allocate initially (to the small claims track) but a judge may re-allocate.A judge's allocation to track is a matter of judicial discretion and very difficult to appeal.

There are mechanisms by which an individual can seek recourse, should they feel that their case has not been handled correctly. If someone disagrees with the outcome of their case then they can appeal a decision through the prescribed appeal route.

Any complaint about the personal conduct of a judge sitting in the County Court should be made to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO). More information about how to complain on the JCIO’s website at the address: http://judicialconduct.judiciary.gov.uk,

HMCTS operates a staged administrative complaints process. This allows the court or tribunal where the problem has occurred to investigate and put things right. Further information about the administrative complaints process can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at the address: http://www.justice.gov.uk/complaints/hm-....

You may wish to seek independent advice about your position. Any Citizens Advice Bureau provides free, confidential and impartial advice on a range of matters. You could also contact Civil Legal Advice on their telephone helpline on 0845 345 4345 or find more about the service they provide at www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice.

Administrative staff are not legally trained and cannot, therefore, offer legal advice. If you have not already done so, you may wish to seek independent advice about your options. Any Citizens Advice Bureau provides free, confidential and impartial advice on a range of matters. You could also contact Civil Legal Advice on their telephone helpline on 0845 345 4345 or find more about the service they provide at www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice.

I explained in my previous email how to raise a complaint if you are unhappy with the administrative handling of your case and I am sorry I am unable to assist you further.

re "Having been good enough to advise on the "how" may I ask
additionally you also advise as to how I can access the HMCTS
internal procedure for the handling of complaints, please?"

"Having been good enough to advise on the "how" = your Customer leaflet

In "the HMCTS internal procedure for the handling of complaints" the wording "internal procedure" - means the 'non-client addressed procedure for the handling of a complaint AFTER receipt, please - i.e.what actions/under what circumstances do YOU apply to progress a complaint through YOUR system, please?

HMCTS operates a three stage administrative complaints process. The first stage is addressed by the court or tribunal where the problem has occurred. This allows them to investigate and put things right.

If this does not provide satisfaction a senior manager at the court or tribunal can review the complaint.

If the complaint is still not resolved it can be escalated to the final or appeal stage where it will be examined by the communications and customer service team.

" i.e.what actions/under what circumstances do YOU apply to progress a complaint through YOUR system, please?"

I do not look for a one-line overview - what I need is access to the DETAILED, STEP-BY-STEP instruction/procedure manual that is to be followed by your staff (including such things, presumably, as logging each specific action, acknowledging receipt, passing to a Judge etc)

2 Attachments

Thank you for your email of 17 February, in which you asked for the
following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):

"i.e. what actions/under what circumstances do YOU apply to progress a
complaint through YOUR system, please?"

I do not look for a one-line overview - what I need is access to the
DETAILED, STEP-BY-STEP instruction/procedure manual that is to be followed
by your staff (including such things, presumably, as logging each specific
action, acknowledging receipt, passing to a Judge etc)”

Your request has been passed to me because I have responsibility for
answering requests relating to Freedom of Information on behalf of the MoJ
and HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). I will be responsible for
responding to the request for information about HMCTS' complaint handling
guide.

Your request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).

Under the Act, the department is required to provide you with a response
within 20 working days. I will write to you in response to your request
for information by 17 March 2015.

The Freedom of Information Act includes a number of exemptions to
releasing information. Some of these are qualified exemptions which
require us to consider whether it is in the public interest to disclose or
withhold the information. In these circumstances we may need more time to
consider your request, and if this is the case I will write to you by the
date above to inform you of when you can expect to receive a
response.

If you have any queries regarding this request please do not hesitate to
contact me, quoting ref: FOI-96063 in all future correspondence.
​​

HMCTS Customer Service (Correspondence) would like to recall the message, "Freedom of Information request - Re HMCTS failure to allocate to track".

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broken when composing or forwarding e-mails and their contents.

Thank you for your email of 17 February, in which you asked for the
following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):

"i.e. what actions/under what circumstances do YOU apply to progress a
complaint through YOUR system, please?"

I do not look for a one-line overview - what I need is access to the
DETAILED, STEP-BY-STEP instruction/procedure manual that is to be followed
by your staff (including such things, presumably, as logging each specific
action, acknowledging receipt, passing to a Judge etc)”

Your request has been passed to me because I have responsibility for
answering requests relating to Freedom of Information on behalf of the MoJ
and HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). I will be responsible for
responding to the request for information about HMCTS' complaint handling
guide.

Your request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).

Under the Act, the department is required to provide you with a response
within 20 working days. I will write to you in response to your request
for information by 17 March 2015.

The Freedom of Information Act includes a number of exemptions to
releasing information. Some of these are qualified exemptions which
require us to consider whether it is in the public interest to disclose or
withhold the information. In these circumstances we may need more time to
consider your request, and if this is the case I will write to you by the
date above to inform you of when you can expect to receive a
response.

If you have any queries regarding this request please do not hesitate to
contact me, quoting ref: FOI-96063 in all future correspondence.
​​

Thank you for your email of 17 February, in which you asked for the
following information from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ):

"i.e. what actions/under what circumstances do YOU apply to progress a
complaint through YOUR system, please?"

I do not look for a one-line overview - what I need is access to the
DETAILED, STEP-BY-STEP instruction/procedure manual that is to be followed
by your staff (including such things, presumably, as logging each specific
action, acknowledging receipt, passing to a Judge etc)”

Your request has been passed to me because I have responsibility for
answering requests relating to Freedom of Information on behalf of the MoJ
and HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). I will be responsible for
responding to the request for information about HMCTS' complaint handling
guide.

Your request is being handled under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
(FOIA).

Under the Act, the department is required to provide you with a response
within 20 working days. I will write to you in response to your request
for information by 17 March 2015.

The Freedom of Information Act includes a number of exemptions to
releasing information. Some of these are qualified exemptions which
require us to consider whether it is in the public interest to disclose or
withhold the information. In these circumstances we may need more time to
consider your request, and if this is the case I will write to you by the
date above to inform you of when you can expect to receive a
response.

If you have any queries regarding this request please do not hesitate to
contact me, quoting ref: FOI-96063 in all future correspondence.
​​